YOUTH FORUM: UGYD says committed to creating jobs for Gambian youth

Members of United Guardian Youth for
Development (UGYD); a youth-led association established by a group of young
people in the country to support and empower youth said they remain strongly
committed to provide young people with skills that will have the potential to
create jobs.

They said their ultimate goal is to assist
in the development of youth in the country to secure employment opportunities.

The association was established in 2008 to
promote peace and unity among young people, develop moral ethics; promote the
spirit of volunteerism and humanity among young people and to guide them from
all forms of abuse, violence and unproductive lifestyles.

It is legally registered as a charitable
association with the Attorney Generals Chambers and The National Youth Council
as a national youth group.

The association is constitutionally
composed of a national executive committee which comprises of a national
chairperson, vice chairperson, treasurer, guidance and education officer,
gender and cultural officer, child and youth empowerment officer, technical
advisory board, co-opted and secretary general who serves as secretary to the
NEC and head of the national secretariat.

Over the years, the association have
conducted numerous trainings on guidance and counseling, business
entrepreneurship, teenage pregnancy, child marriage, illegal immigration
amongst others in the form of symposia, radio shows, community outreaches etc.

But the most memorable experience that the
association faced was when it went on a nation-wide campaign on the use of
illicit drugs. It was in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency in 2010.

The associations members were tasked with
the responsibility of approaching young people in the ghettos to discourage
them from the practice. Some were welcoming others were very violent on us, to
the extent of throwing stones at us. But gladly, after making follow ups many
of them voluntarily stopped smoking after the campaign.

However, the promotion of guidance and
counselling and career development have been the driving force of the
association since inception. We have trained students and community elders on
basic guidance and counselling during our summer school camps that we have been
organizing in the different regions of the country for the past six years.

It avails us the opportunity to sensitive
these people on harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation
(FGM/C),early marriage, teenage pregnancy, child labour among other burning
issues.